NY officials to scrap literacy test for teachers because "Blacks and Hispanics couldnt pass".

Human Bio-Diversity exists.

originally posted by: TarzanBeta
Next up - scrapping literacy tests for students.

You'd be surprised (or maybe not) that college professors have gotten flak because they were correcting "African American Vernacular English" which is just a floofy term for what used to be known as "jive."

Can't be oppressing the Basketball-Americans.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

The truth is probably that the minorities that ranked higher in their grades, did not want the job of being underpaid, unrespected, teachers.

Yup, combined with

Charles Sahm, the director of education policy at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, is a strong supporter of raising the bar for teachers but not a fan of this particular literacy test.

Sahm took the $20 practice exam and thought it was a poorly designed test with multiple-choice questions that seemed to have more than one correct answer.

"I do agree that it's not a great test," Sahm said. "I found the reading comprehension section to be kind of infuriating. I only got 21 out of 40 right."

I want to become a brain surgeon can I get the same treatment? It would sure be nice if I could operate on someones brain without the intelligence or education to perform the task. What do I know? I'm after all just a dumb working class white guy.

a reply to: thegeneraldisarray

Proper grammar perpetuates a racist, unjust system ... according to a College Writing Center in Tacoma, WA.

“Racism is the normal condition of things. Racism is pervasive,” the poster reads, the Daily Caller reported Monday. “It is in the systems, structures, rules, languages, expectations, and guidelines that make up our classes, school, and society. For example, linguistic and writing research has shown clearly for many decades that there is no inherent ‘standard’ of English. Language is constantly changing. These two facts make it very difficult to justify placing people in hierarchies or restricting opportunities and privileges because of the way people communicate in particular versions of English.”

In other words, rules of any kind are racist if you are a minority and don't happen to like them or can't be bothered to follow them, even perhaps if you made them.

originally posted by: jkm1864
I want to become a brain surgeon can I get the same treatment? It would sure be nice if I could operate on someones brain without the intelligence or education to perform the task. What do I know? I'm after all just a dumb working class white guy.

White brains are a racist, unjust neuronal architecture. How dare white brains organize themselves in that fashion?

Stupid people are a cancer to human progress, no matter which color. ~$heopleNation

a reply to: gladtobehere

Sometimes a story seems simple - and is presented that way so you can make a specific kind of point

What a mess - right? So - what to do? Do we just not have teachers - at all? In which schools? Will Betsy fix this?

Teacher Shortages Spur a Nationwide Hiring Scramble (Credentials Optional)

Some are even asking prospective teachers to train on the job, hiring novices still studying for their teaching credentials, with little, if any, classroom experience.

As shortage looms, state rethinks how it recruits and treats its teachers

But although the state doesn't yet face a teacher shortage, one is on the horizon, educators say. It will be particularly concentrated in certain districts, especially rural and urban ones, and certain fields, like English as a second language and in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

“Enrollments in education schools, applications to education schools, are plummeting — and not by a little bit. By huge amounts,” said John Ewing, president of Math for America, a fellowship program focused on creating professional development communities to support math and science teachers. “Even if there is no shortage right now, it’s pretty clear we’re headed for trouble.”

Schenectady schools superintendent Larry Spring said the main issue the state now faces isn’t finding teachers to fill positions. It’s finding qualified teachers to fill those positions.

Tapp ing High Schoolers to Become Teachers

Nationwide, enrollment in teacher-preparation programs has dropped by 35 percent in the past five years, according to a report from the Learning Policy Institute, and more than 40 percent of those who choose the profession leave within five years. Can local high school students eventually help to fill the gaps in the teaching ranks in their communities? Districts across the country are pinning their hopes on students as young as middle school. The idea is to generate interest in the teaching profession among youth who already have a stake in the community, and who may be more likely to remain in the area long-term.

State's top educators warn of looming teacher shortage

At the same time, there’s concern about the ability to attract new teachers.

The profession has come under fire in recent years during the battle to reform education, as teachers are being held more accountable for student performance and face more scrutiny with teacher evaluations and changes to certification.

Enrollment in teaching programs at SUNY is down 40 percent since 2009.

In fact, some districts already are having trouble attracting science, special-education and foreign-language teachers, said Carl Korn, spokesman for the New York State United Teachers.

“It should come as no surprise if politicians and policymakers bash teachers and throw up obstacles that there would be a decline in young people who aspire to enter the profession,” Korn said.

Just yet another example in a never ending list of the dept of education NOT sticking up for the children and doing what's best for them. After all, why should the people our tax dollars pay to teach our children actually be able to read and write?

a reply to: gladtobehere
Take a look at iq tests of Arab Muslims, wait for the flap about Muslims being excluded. 50 years of Islamic sanctioned interbreeding (recall whom Mohammed took as his last wife) have dropped Arab IQ 15 points , about. You want independent evidence? Tally Nobel prizes, literature prizes, science publications. say compare Jewish totals from a base of 60 million or so versus Muslim totals with a base of, say, 1.5 billion..... Screech Screech nononon yada yada.

This is the kind of thing that really ticks me off. We have this problem all over Chicago too. We have standard tests meant to ensure a certain quality and ability are present in applicants for various positions. This is an important part of the hiring process and can not be overlooked. Unless the applicant is a minority. Then to hell with qualifications and you can forget about giving the job to the best qualified candidate - if he/she is white. No, instead make the test easier for minorities to pass and give the jobs to them even though the white people still probably scored higher. And having been through the Chicago public school system myself, I know its not racist or biased against minorities. We all sat in the same classroom, listening to the same teacher, looking at the same chalkboard. And when the test scores were handed out it was obvious who got it and who didn't.

originally posted by: daveinats
Here in Sierra Vista, AZ the school system hired a full time interpreter for an illegal they enrolled in school. This after saying they were so strapped for cash they dropped all athletic courses. That and the only school in this system where the teachers worked a full 8 hours a day at school was where a handi-capped student went.
The teacher unions are out of control.

What would you rather do? Should the child not be educated? Creating an even greater permanent underclass?

a reply to:I
I could not help but to shake my head at this being an ex educator. States or at least two of which I live in have systematically attacked education and teacher particularly to the point that to teach, is to suffer. I left education fortunatlly after getting to retirement years and never looked back. I went into my contracting business and enjoyed my last years. Others whom stayed told me repeatedly it was getting worse and I was fortunate to have left. It is not the kids, it is the politics and the insane rules that make teaching almost impossible.

My daughter whom is a brilliant teacher is hanging it up and her son whom is going to UM also is not going into education. My daughter is giving up with only four years until retirement and would rather serve beer at the local brewery than continue. A cousin whom screens teachers tells me new teachers are few and getting even more scarce as new graduates avoid education due to what is happening, thus a crises in the making. So who else to hire, anyone it seems but not the cream of the crop. Those whom attack my response are the proof in the pudding. States are getting what the deserve, but then their kids suffer. LOL.

a reply to: TarzanBeta

Well, it wouldn't be fair to expect the students of illiterate teachers to be able to pass a literacy test after all.

a reply to: ketsuko

Language does evolve though. Spellings, sentence structure, grammar, and the words we use all change over time and they also change regionally.

At the end of the day, language is about communicating ideas. If you're able to do that effectively then what's the problem? If you're not, then there's a disconnect. That disconnect exists now in many urban areas can't communicate effectively with others. It's due to socioeconomic reasons rather than race (though it does predominantely affect blacks), but it's very real.

originally posted by: SheopleNation
Stupid people are a cancer to human progress, no matter which color. ~$heopleNation

Agreed. So how do we educate them? There's a teacher shortage. The teachers can't pass the tests and the schools don't want to pay the wages that attract people who can.

a reply to: gladtobehere

"NY officials to scrap literacy test for teachers because "Blacks and Hispanics couldn't pass". "
(edited to insert apostrophe in "couldn't")

I am not sure if you understood this part?

New York education officials are poised to scrap a test designed to measure the reading and writing skills of people trying to become teachers..

This test is part of an ENTRY screening to accept applicants into education curriculum.

Otherwise...The test does not certify them to teach, but is a screening tool for admittance into program that prepares, tests, educates and then certifies them to be teachers.

The other thing I would point out...

These kinds of tests often do suck...the are often nonsensical questions with poor wording.

from your article:

Charles Sahm, the director of education policy at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, is a strong supporter of raising the bar for teachers but not a fan of this particular literacy test.


Sahm took the $20 practice exam and thought it was a poorly designed test with multiple-choice questions that seemed to have more than one correct answer.


"I do agree that it's not a great test," Sahm said. "I found the reading comprehension section to be kind of infuriating. I only got 21 out of 40 right."

I found a sample problem from the test if anyone wants to get an idea of the questions:

www.ccny.cuny.edu...

a reply to: Indigo5

One of the things that turned me off from education so much was the "trick question" and poorly worded question.

The test should not test how cunning you are, but instead should test your knowledge in a given area. Especially when schools don't bother spending time teaching you logic and problem solving.

Once again, the takeaway message for all people with school aged children would be to take a serious look at the school system that your children will attend

Before we had our first child, we moved to a town that had and has outstanding schools. We read to our children a lot. We emphasized to our children that they had to make a strong effort in school and other areas of their life

They are both very successful today.

If your schools are academically inferior, move somewhere else.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Here's the problem with tests that teachers give. They go into the test knowing that they want x% of students to pass, and as they give the test class after class, they fine tune it to produce those results. With some practice they can get pretty close every single time.

They all have their own methods, but at the college level such as where these teacher certifications it's more about producing a certain bell curve than maximizing education. I know I've had a lot of professors in the past who intentionally give very hard exams (we're talking top grades of 20%), and then make the exam x% of the grade knowing the usual exam scores just so they'll never give A's. That's just the way education works.

Personal experience has lead me to realize that there's little correlation between exam scores, knowledge, and ability. But, exam scores are something that can be quantified so they tend to be relied on to measure the other two.